The Workshop Aberfeldy creates a bridge between education and employment for young people to learn practical skills.
Gina Wallace, who co-founded the Highland Perthshire charity in 2014, explains her ambitions to help more young people gain skills for work.
Q. How and why did you start in business?
G: My background is in charity; I worked in corporate social responsibility with global companies.
An opportunity came up in youth entrepreneurship, where I helped to build an organisation working at the centre of a network of 42 national charities enabling young people to start their own business.
Then I had a family and wanted to work a bit closer to home.
Q. How did you get to where you are today?
G: The move into running a social enterprise happened naturally.
My co-founder Paul knows all about running a workshop, I know how to run a charity, and we’re both passionate about helping people, so it’s a great partnership.
Q. Who has helped you along the way?
G: I’ve worked with some really bright people from a variety of backgrounds who have found their way into the charitable sector at various points in their careers.
There are also some fantastic organisations set up to support people get started – GrowBiz have been great for us for business advice and networking opportunities.
And Firstport have provided a lot of help specifically for social enterprises.
Q. What was your biggest mistake?
G: There have been lots! But thankfully mostly small ones…so far. It really helps to have another person to talk things through with.
There are lots of things we did when we started that we wouldn’t do now, but that’s just learning as you evolve.
Q. What is your greatest achievement to date?
G: Helping people change their lives.
We’ve worked with people with really challenging circumstances, and seeing them develop, gain self-confidence and take on things they never would have thought possible really does make us feel amazing.
For some that can be as simple as having the confidence to answer a telephone, right through to going to university.
Q. How has coronavirus impacted your business?
G: Like most businesses, it’s been really tough.
We’ve had long periods when we haven’t been able to have trainees or volunteers in, which is frustrating, and our sales have been significantly hit, which is scary.
But we’ve also had some really positive feedback, with people wanting to support us and trying to ensure we survive.
Q. What do you hope to achieve in the future?
G: As (hopefully) the business regrows, we’ll be able to take advantage of new opportunities presented by these last few months.
It feels that the work we do is more relevant than ever; with unemployment high, giving our local community the opportunity to gain skills and work experience will hopefully give them the edge when it comes to finding jobs.
Q. Do you want to recruit in the future?
G: We’re always looking for opportunities to work with more people, either as trainees or (as funding allows) employees.
Hopefully the business will get back to a position where we can start to plan this soon.
Q. What’s the hardest thing about running your own business?
G: Feeling responsible for staff, particularly when things are tough and uncertain – this year has been interesting!
And definitely trying not to let work seep too much into the rest of life.
Q. Any advice to wannabe entrepreneurs?
G: Talk to everyone you can about your plans; there are lots of people with good advice, or a simple suggestion you might not have thought of.
Or it’ll reassure you that you have actually thought of that!
Q. How do you relax?
G: Getting outdoors. I’ve got an active family, including an over-energetic dog, and there’s lots of things to do on our doorstep.
We love where we live, and try to make the most of it.
